Here’s what happened in crypto today

Today in crypto, Interpol has issued a "Red Notice" for Hex founder Richard Schueler, also known as Richard Heart, Jump Crypto subsidiary Tai Mo Shan settles with the SEC, and Google says UK advertisers wanting to promote crypto exchanges in the country must register with the FCA.

Interpol issues 'Red Notice' for Hex founder Richard Heart

The world’s largest international police organization, Interpol, has issued a “Red Notice” for Hex founder Richard Schueler, also known as Richard Heart, for allegedly committing tax fraud and assault.

A Red Notice is a global request for law enforcement to locate and provisionally arrest a person — with Finnish authorities seeking Schueler’s arrest. However, a Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant.

Schueler was also listed on Europe’s most wanted fugitives list, where the same allegations went into more detail. It alleged that Schueler “physically assaulted a 16-year-old victim by grabbing their hair, dragging them into the stairwell and knocking them to the ground.”

Heart is suspected of tax evasion between June 2, 2020, and April 2, 2024.

The Red Notice comes just three months after a remand order was initially issued for Schueler on Sept. 13, according to Finnish public broadcaster Yle. 

Jump Crypto subsidiary settles with Securities and Exchange Commission

Jump Crypto subsidiary Tai Mo Shan entered into a $123 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for misleading investors about the TerraUSD (UST) algorithmic stablecoin.

According to a Dec. 20 announcement from the SEC, Tai Mo Shan misled investors about the stability of the algorithmic stablecoin by purchasing $20 million in UST to artificially keep the price of UST pegged at a 1:1 ratio with the US dollar.

TerraUSD eventually lost its dollar peg in May 2022 — first de-pegging to $0.98 due to a whale offloading roughly $285 million in UST — then plummeting to $0.67 days later.

The fear, uncertainty, and doubt created by the initial price declines caused a cascade of liquidations in the Terra ecosystem — eventually leading to the complete collapse of UST.

Google to require FCA registration for crypto ads targeting the UK

Google advertisements promoting digital asset exchanges and wallets in the United Kingdom must register with the country’s financial services regulator when a new Google policy update takes effect in January 2025. 

The search engine company said that starting on Jan. 15, 2025, advertisers offering crypto exchange products and services in the UK will be allowed to advertise if they meet certain requirements. 

For crypto exchanges and software wallets, Google said it would allow ads to promote these products if they are registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). 

Google also announced that it will permit ads for hardware wallets designed to store private keys for cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), or other digital assets, as long as they do not provide additional services such as buying, selling, or trading.

While Google Ads did not specify any further requirements for these hardware wallets, the company expects advertisers to comply with local regulations. Google wrote: 

This means that advertisers wanting to show crypto-related ads on Google must look into the local regulations of the jurisdictions they want their ads to appear and meet the requirements set by the financial regulators in those areas.